Tufts Falls in First Road Game at Johnson & Wales

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (March 11, 2025) - The Tufts University baseball team dropped their first road game of the season at Johnson & Wales in Providence on Tuesday afternoon by a score of 17-9.

The Jumbos (2-3) got the offense going in the top of the first thanks to a Cooper Smith single, but failed to make anything of it. First year starter Emmet Christian struggled with traffic on the basepaths in the bottom of the frame, hitting a batter and walking another before an RBI ground out brought the first run of the game in for Johnson & Wales (3-6).

Tufts tied it back up in the top of the second, showcasing the resilient and responsive offense the Jumbos boast. Owen McKiernan worked a walk before Connor Brala advanced him to second on an infield single to third. Ozzie Fleischer battled for a strong at bat as he advanced the runners up a bag by grounding out to the left side. Jesse McCullough grounded out as well, but put it down the first base line to score McKiernan. And tie it at 1-1. 

Johnson & Wales stacked a trio of runs to knock Christian out of the game and retake the lead in the bottom of the second. The Wildcats settled in on the mound in a unique fashion, keeping pitchers in for no longer than four outs across the nine innings. The constantly changing arms made it difficult for the Jumbos bats to settle in, but Tufts still managed to stack four runs up in the top of the fourth to once again tie the game at 5-5.

Henry Fleckner singled up the middle to earn his 101st hit as a Jumbo, before coming home thanks to a Fleischer sacrifice fly. Brala was scored by a Ben Leonard single and McCullough was driven in immediately after by a Max Pavlik single to right. Leonard came home to score off a wild pitch for the fourth and final run of the inning. 

The Wildcats responded in the bottom of the fifth with a crooked number of their own, putting five on the board to double their advantage over Tufts, 10-5. The Jumbos managed to put another four-spot on the board in the top of the eighth, but the pitching was unable to silence the Johnson & Wales bats as they tallied five more in the bottom of the frame.

The Jumbos went down quietly in the top of the ninth and the Wildcats took the win by a score of 17-9. Tufts will return to Sol Gittleman Park for a home game versus M.I.T. tomorrow, Wednesday March 12 at 3:00 pm.